Shidong Temple

Shidong Temple

The new construction of Shidong Temple took five years and was basically completed at the end of 1995. Under the careful planning presided over by Shi Zhaohui, the believers worked hard and opened a trinity cave on the red sandstone wall.

The main cave is cut from the cliff to the East, with a depth of 30 meters, a width of 8 meters, and a height of 6.5 meters; two accompanying caves are cut on both sides of the main cave bottom, with a depth of 24 meters, a width of 6 meters, and a height of 6.5 meters in the north; and 25 meters, a width of 7 meters, and a height of 6.5 meters in the south.

Cave temples were formed in turn, which were named as the main hall, the North Hall and the South Hall. In 1995, Xunyuan temple in Wuquan mountain, Lanzhou, presided over the donation of master Rongkai, with a capital of 6000 yuan. A jade Buddha was transported from Myanmar, with a height of 1.9 meters. A grand ceremony was held to receive the Buddha, and the Jade Buddha was worshipped in the main hall of the newly opened Shidong temple.

Destroyed and rebuilt

According to research, Shikong temple was destroyed in the war in the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty (1862-1874) and rebuilt in the 32nd year of Guangxu period (1906). The reconstructed Shikong temple is more in line with the architectural norms of Buddhist resorts. Its main buildings include the mountain gate, thousand hand Buddha Hall, dizang hall, Wenchang palace, etc., all of which are illustrated by their couplets.

The couplet of Shikong temple is as follows: "the pure land Dharma gate has three roots, which is the wonderful way of the beginning and the end of the Tathagata; Mitha vows to accept the nine realms, and show the hearts of the people to be Hongyou." The hall of the thousand handed Buddha is linked as follows: "don't give up Hongci's efforts to search for sound to save the sufferings; often travel to the sea of sufferings and go to the induction machine.". The couplet of dizang hall is: "if hell is not empty, the heart of the great sage will not be tired; if all living beings are not exhausted, the amount of benevolence and respect will always be like this." The couplets of Wenchang Palace are still written by the people of the Qing Dynasty, who said: "the style of writing is one scene, and the pavilion is really created by heaven; the strokes at both ends show the distant peaks, which are originally generated by the earth.".

This couplet is full of beautiful scenery of the combination of heaven and earth in the ancient Shikong temple. During the period of the Republic of China, Buddhism flourished in Shikong temple. Shi Jue GUI, a Buddhist disciple who believed in Sanbao, said that Shikong temple was improper. He thought that Shikong temple was not fit for the doctrine of active and enterprising Buddhism. Therefore, Shikong temple was renamed Shidong temple in 1938 to highlight the unique Buddhist spectacle of building a temple on the natural stone cave.

Unfortunately, in 1970, when the Xicha electric pumping irrigation project was built, the original Temple of Shidong temple was completely demolished.

In 1982, Wei Xianlin, a native of Jiangou village, Shidong Township, Gaolan County, and Wei Junbang, a native of hongxiantai village, Zhongquan Township, Jingtai County, who initiated faith in Buddhism, went to Qiyuan temple in Jiuhua Mountain, Anhui Province to study Buddhism for huijue Buddhism. They were instructed by master Mingjin of the temple. They gave Wei Xianlin the name of Shimen shizhaohui and Wei Junbang the name of Shimen shizhaozhi. In March 1987, Shi Zhao returned from Huixue and devoted himself to Buddhist activities in Shidong temple. In September 1988, Shi Zhaozhi came to Shidong temple to assist him in Buddhist activities at the invitation of Shi Zhaohui.

Buddhist activities

In 1989, with the implementation of ethnic and religious policies, Buddhist activities in Shidong Temple resumed. Shi Zhaohui applied to build a Buddhist temple on the site of Yuanshang temple in Yangpo. The people's Government of Shidong township has approved the reconstruction of Shidong temple. In the same year, six monk dormitories were built in the north and south of the temple. In April, Shi Zhaohui and Shi Zhaozhi began to lead their sons and followers to drill holes in the stone wall of the original East Mountain of Shangsi, and raised more than 30000 yuan to invest in the reconstruction of Shidong temple. Nine Temple houses were built in two years.

On the fifth day of the third lunar month, 1994, accompanied by master jiamumian luosangjiumei tudanchaojinima, member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference, vice president of the Chinese Buddhist Association, President of the Gansu Buddhist Association, and deputy director of the Standing Committee of the provincial people's Congress, who presided over master Rongkai in Junyuan Temple of Wuquan mountain in Lanzhou, he came to Gaolan for Buddhist activities. A grand welcome ceremony was held in Shidong temple, where the master presented his greetings to Sakyamuni Buddha He spoke highly of the historical, cultural and Buddhist values of Shidong temple, praised the Buddhist spectacle of Shidong temple building in Shidong, and discussed with the leaders of the county Party committee and the county government about Yongzhai. He placed high hopes and support on the restoration and reconstruction of Shidong temple, and urged that Shidong temple should be built well, leaving precious cultural heritage to the world.

Modern renovation

In the same year, master Rongkai gave another 40000 yuan to support and help the construction of the stone cave temple. He created 14 Buddha statues in the main hall, the North Hall and the South Hall. Among them, there are 8 Buddha statues in the main hall, including 1 Sakyamuni Buddha, 1 world Buddha, 1 Amitabha Buddha, 2 accompanying Bodhisattvas, 1 Myanmar jade Buddha and 2 accompanying Bodhisattvas. There are three statues of Buddha in the North Hall, including one Bodhisattva of the king of Tibet and two accompanying Bodhisattvas. There are three Buddha statues in the South Hall, namely one of the twenty-four generations of Guanyin Bodhisattva, one of great conversion to heaven Bodhisattva and one of earthly heaven Bodhisattva. All the 14 Buddha statues were decorated with gold and polished. In 1996, six new temples were built, and the temple took on a new look.

In 1997, with the help of famous Buddhist figures in Gansu Province and Lanzhou City, the county religious bureau made a specific plan for the restoration and construction of Shidong temple, and actively sought the financial support and support from people from all walks of life. In 1998, the construction of the main hall of Shidong temple was started according to the planning and design, with 50000 yuan donated by the master, 47000 yuan raised by Shi Zhaohui himself, 15000 yuan provided by the converted disciples, and 56000 yuan provided by the temple. A total of 183000 yuan was raised for the construction of the hall. Employing 15 skilled craftsmen, it took nine months and cost 186000 yuan, so the main project of the hall was completed by the end of the year. The next year, the main hall began painting decoration. Unfortunately, Shi Zhaozhi was willing to die on the fifth day of the sixth lunar month in 1998. Regardless of his old age and infirmity, Shi Zhaohui insisted on the renovation of the hall. At the end of 1999, he completed the construction of the hall and created the statue of eighteen Arhats in the hall. The total cost of the new Shidong temple hall is more than 300000 yuan. The main hall is close to the main cave and stands against the mountain. It is majestic, with red pillars, cornices, carved beams and painted buildings. Its architectural style, painting and carving art are better than those of the old temple.

geographical position

In Yangpo community, weijiazhuang village, Shidong Township, Gaolan County, at the foot of Dongshan mountain, about 2km away from the county seat, there is a Buddhist temple. It is famous for its natural stone cave built on the hillside, so it is called Shidong temple. From ancient times to the present, all visitors to Shidong temple and believers who come to pray for Buddha are amazed by the Buddhist wonders in the cave.

Architectural history

According to the genealogy of the Yang family in Jincheng, Shidong temple was built in the Yuan Dynasty, which was called Shikong Hula (Mongolian, meaning the city in the mountains). In 1509, the fourth year of Zhengde reign of emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, before the Shikong ancient land was lost, it was the ancestral hall of the Yang family in Jincheng. The tombstone of the first Tomb of the Yang family in Jincheng, which was set up in August of the 43rd year of Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1615), still exists today. Qing Kangxi 44 years (1705) as a Buddhist temple, known as Shikong temple, also known as Shigong temple. In that year, two temples were built in accordance with a natural stone cave at the waist of Dongshan mountain. They are divided into upper temple and lower temple. The distance between the two temples is about 500 meters. They echo each other from afar, which is very spectacular. The upper temple is located in the north and stands in the mountains. There is a main hall in the middle of the temple, in which there is a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. The north and South Wing rooms correspond to the seats, presenting the unique landscape of the temple. The Xiasi temple is located in the south. It is built in front of a natural cave niche at the waist of Dongshan mountain. There is a brick and wood structure archway at the foot of the mountain in front of the temple. When you enter the archway, you can see the striking plaque of "Shikong Temple" hanging in front of the front eaves of the gate. The whole temple sits east to west, divided into hall, box, guest and door, showing a quadrangle. In the East, there is a towering main hall, brick and wood structure, and double-layer pavilions. The downstairs is about 15 meters wide and 6 meters deep. The eaves are 3 meters deep. There are nearly 100 statues of historical and mythical figures on the wall. The murals on both sides of the wall are combined to form a whole. Climbing up the stairs along both sides of the uterus, you can see a natural stone cave. According to the cave, there are three wooden buildings with hanging pavilions. The middle Pavilion is closely connected with the stone Buddha niche. The niche is 3.2 meters deep and contains a statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva. The north and South chambers correspond to each other, with a width of 12 meters and a depth of 4 meters. There are statues of the goddess of heaven and Bodhisattvas in the South chamber, while the North chamber is still Yang's ancestral hall for its ancestral tablets. The mountain gates on both sides are 3 meters wide and 4 meters high. The gatehouse is a double step beam structure with symmetrical guest rooms on both sides. The whole building, with carved beams and painted buildings and colorful eaves, is exquisite and magnificent.

At the foot of the temple, the beach is round, and the Quantou River (also known as Caijia River) is S-shaped from north to south. The flowing water is gurgling, just like a green dragon drawing Taiji. The back of the temple is close to the red sandstone mountain, so it is called "back to Chibi, embrace Taiji". The temple is built on the East Mountain, surrounded by three villages, surrounded by tobacco trees, adjacent to the countryside, green wheat and green vegetables, fragrant melons and fruits, and full of vitality. An anonymous poem from Qingyi said: "it is natural that there is a Buddha cave in the cliff side of Shikong ancient temple. One side of the front Tai Chi diagram, with Yin and Yang springs on both sides. Wenfeng overlooks the southern suburbs, and the green water originates from the top of the north mountain. Hundreds of farmhouses on the river bank, a clump of blue trees lock smoke

cultural atmosphere

On the first day of October of the lunar calendar in 2002, Shimen Shizhao Huixin, the abbot of Shidong temple, was willing to die. Lanzhou Buddhist Association appointed Liyan, the monk of Xunyuan temple in Wuquan mountain, to take over the chairmanship of Shidong temple.

Since the resumption of Buddhist activities in Shidong temple in 1989, every lunar month on the first and fifteenth day, there are Buddhist disciples who come to worship incense, kneel down and chant scriptures. In addition, they have to chant scriptures on the birthday of Buddha and Bodhisattva. There are thousands of sutras chanting disciples in Shanggong and hundreds of them in Shao. By the end of 2000, there were more than 2800 converted disciples

Chinese PinYin : Shi Dong Si